title: Aging and cancer: can mTOR inhibitors kill two birds with one drug?
abstract: The main risk factor for a number of diseases, including cancer, is aging. By delaying the effects of aging, many years of research indicate that diseases associated with aging are reduced by prolongevity interventions such as reductions in caloric intake and mice genetically deficient for growth factors. Although studies of dietary and growth factor restriction have been highly informative regarding the aging process, they are both unrealistic for human application. Recent preclinical results with a pharmacological prolongevity agent (rapamycin) provide a proof-of-concept that such an approach is feasible in human populations. Exactly how rapamycin works to extend lifespan is under increasingly intense investigation. In addition, these studies underscore the critical role that the intracellular target of rapamycin (TOR) plays in one of the deepest mysteries of life, aging. How age-associated diseases interface with TOR and its signaling systems, and the tremendous opportunities for discovery of new drugs that target both aging and its associated diseases is one of the most exciting areas of research currently being conducted in this new era of aging research.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Biotechnology, Department of Molecular Medicine and Barshop Institute for Longevity and Aging Studies, University of Texas Health Science Center San Antonio, San Antonio, TX, USA. sharp@uthscsa.edu
authors.forename: Zelton Dave
authors.initials: ZD
authors.lastname: Sharp
authors.forename: Arlan
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Richardson
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000818:Animals; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006801:Humans; D058990:Molecular Targeted Therapy; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy*; D058570:TOR Serine-Threonine Kinases / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors*
chemical_list: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; C546842:MTOR protein, human; D058570:TOR Serine-Threonine Kinases